Lanse couche couche

I spent Saturday morning walking around some land i just bought in Illinois. Jumped a 12 point buck along the lines that some folks would pay 3K to shoot. That afternoon I rode around on a four wheeler over by some other land that i own. Lost track of all the deer that i saw in the middle of the day, including some that (according to a friend) would score around 140-150. Land prices are coming down somewhat, so 3500 would make a good downpayment on 20 acres of prime hunting ground in that area.

whitetaildreamer

I'm with a number of posts that discuss the actual cost of hunting whitetail. There is no such thing as a $0 cost hunt and if you think there is, you are definitely fooling youself. The only $0 cost hunt is when you have a friend drive you out, borrow a gun and bullets, poach a deer without a licence, have your driver take you out for lunch, process your own deer with some one else's knives, and then store your meat in your neighbour's freezer. I could not even total the cost of equipment (guns, reloading equipment, clothing, calls, stands, etc.). To top it off, the most expensive aspect is my time. What is it worth? The countless hours scouting and range work before I even get into the field before hunting. Now if I had only a week to get away (no time for scouting) and 5 buddies that would split the gas, food and good times with, as well as having theland scouted and the stands placed then I think that $3500 would be a bargin.

Lanse couche couche

The last deer that i killed didn't cost much more than the price of the permit. The cost of guns, knives, freezer, doesn't really factor in unless you buy them specifically for deer. Otherwise, that is like factoring in the cost of electricity to heat your house when you cook the deer, even though you are gonna be running the heater anyway.

Pass_Thru

I put $2500 because IWONT use outfitters and thats the max I can pay for MY SHARE of a yearly lease. A leaseis the best way to go for whitetails since your not normally limited to the number of days like with an outfitter. With an outfitted hunt you pay a set price to hunt 3,4, or 5 days and with a lease you can go down as much as you usually need to. Alot more flexibility.

Manybeards

I have,and will continue to use quality outfitters for my Big Game hunting..... Nothing wrong with public ground. Lots of nice bucks have been taken. TIME is the limiting factor for me. I can not take the time necessary to scout,put up stands and review trail cam photos. I leave that in the able hands of the outfitter. Admit it..... we are all ultimately interested in pulling the trigger or releasing that bow string. I'm just getting to the meat alot quicker by booking QUALITY hunts through proven outfitters. I won't even take the saftey off unless I'm pretty sure I'm looking at a 150 class buck or better. A big part of why I pay an outfitter is the confidence in knowing that he's putting me in position to have encounters with bucks in that category. I might not get him,but just knowing that my chances of seeing trophy deer are increased because of the efforts of my guide,makes paying the money alot easier to swallow!

formula1

I might if I had the money and the situation warrants. I prefer to do my own hunting/scouting/setup, but sometimes that's not feasible, depending on the distance away from home. A long as it is fair chase and I have the funds, I might be interested.

CamoCop

not me

mossberghunter93

i got the exact same 1

SouthernStrut56

I would never pay a single dime, other than GAS, a license, and meals,to kill an animal native to where I hunt.I would however pay to go on a mule deer or elk hunt out west, but probably only once. As long as I still have deer runnin around at my place, I won't be paying anybodyfor a whitetail hunt. If I didn't have private land I would hunt national forest lands the rest of my life before I paid somebodyfor a whitetail hunt. One of my buddies paid $1900 to kill a 137 inchbuck in Indiana last year, a month later Idrug a 140 inch buck off my private property here in Alabama, for free. Made him sick. I got no interest inpayin to kill a monster, I just like havin the freedom to be in the woods any time I want, that's enough for me. If I do kill anice big buck, that's just a bonus. If youhave the money, it's your money, do what you want with it. But I dang sure wouldn't pay anywhere near $3500 to kill an animal thatwalks around behind my house, I'd use it for gas money.

Champlain Islander

I would pay something for a lease but not 3500. In the past I have paid around 500 for the rights to hunt a large piece of land. I have gone on some outfitter hunts out of the country that required a bigger investment but my favorite hunts have been DIY out west with some of my best hunting buddys.